Gloves have been provided to facilitate the gripping of various objects such as vehicle steering wheels, golf clubs, baseball bats, handle bars, water ski handles, weight-lifting bars, and the like. Initially, the gripping enhancement of these gloves was provided by the inherent friction between the glove material and the object being gripped. With the arrival of hook and loop fasteners, known as VELCRO.RTM., the gripping action of the glove has been improved by providing the cooperating loop and hook portions selectively on the glove and object being gripped as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,665,565, dated May 9, 1987 and 4,691,387, dated Sept. 8, 1987.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,565 also discloses the use of cooperating loops and hooks on portions of the glove palm and fingers to facilitate gripping a golf club.
While the gloves disclosed in the prior art have been satisfactory for their intended purpose, they have been limited somewhat in their acceptance in that where the cooperating loop and hook portions are provided on the glove and object being gripped, the use of the glove was restricted for use with an object also having a VELCRO.RTM. portion. That is, a glove having the loop portion of the VELCRO.RTM. fastener was restricted for use with a bat or golf club provided with a cooperating hook portion of the fastener.
In the case where the cooperating loop and hook portions are provided on portions of the glove palm and fingers, the use of the glove is limited to objects having a small diameter such as a golf club, whereby the fastener portion on the finger portions engages the fastener portion on the palm portion. This type of glove cannot be used on objects having a relatively larger diameter, such as a weight-lifting bar, because the ends of the glove fingers would not meet with the palm portion of the glove.
After considerable research and experimentation, the glove and mitten of the present invention has been devised to facilitate gripping various objects having diameters ranging from very small to relatively large. The glove and mitt of the present invention utilizes VELCRO.RTM. wherein the hook portion of the fastener is secured to the surface of the thumb portion facing the index finger. The loop portion of the fastener extends across the back of the mitt and slightly over the front top edge thereof. Similarly, when using a glove, the loop portion extends across the back of each finger of the glove and slightly over the front edge thereof. The extent of the loop portions on the back of the mitt and glove is configured to correspond to the area between the user's finger tips and the next proximate finger joints.
By this construction and arrangement, when a rod or shaft is gripped, the mitt or glove is wrapped around the shaft so that the loop portion on the back of the mitt or glove faces and engages the hook portion on the thumb portion on the mitt or glove. The particular area in which the hooks and loops become engaged will depend upon the diameter of the shaft being gripped. For relatively large diameter shafts, the hook portion of the fastener will engage the loop portion of the fastener near the finger tips of the glove or mitt. For relatively small diameter shafts, the hook portion of the fastener will engage the loop portion in the vicinity of the finger joints proximate to the finger tips.